Arc 2 Chapter 10: Forgotten by the Fate
Subaru made sure his limbs were intact.
His senses told him they were, yet his mind screamed. He grasped his arm. Laughed. Grasped his legs. Laughed, eyes filled with tears. His chest. It stood intact. How? When? Questions filled his mind.
"-Subaru?-" A feminine voice echoed in his mind.
The words belonged to a dead friend, yet it gleamed with life.
"-Subaru?!-" the voice asked once more.
You are dead, he thought to himself
His frenzied mind couldn't comprehend, his hands reaching out to the black sphere taking form in front of him. The desperate man managed to grasp the light. Another mystery took form. Existent.
"-Wh-What are you doing?-"
He touched a dead friend. A small, gentle, innocent, and laughable; yet incomprehensible wish. He shivered as life kept giving him more. His legs, long gave out, tried to muster strength within themselves. Failure once more.
"Natsuki, tell her to stand down." Another feminine voice. A stern voice. A commanding voice.
Aren't you supposed to be dead?
Subaru did wonder if this was the afterlife. It seemed like death outnumbered the living. I forgot, he thought to himself. He died too. Twisting, agonizing, begging, losing, brutalizing, slowly, but surely. He died.
How?
His mind had no answer.
When?
Tomorrow would be the answer. Yet none can know what tomorrow has to hold.
A dream?
The pain he felt was real.
He died. Watched them die. Watched them burn under rubbles. Watched them torn apart. He even walked on their path. Being torn apart himself. Piece by piece. Arms drilled inside. Legs broken. Chest shattered. Light of life is gone. Yet the veil of mystery remained.
Dead do not speak. A common fact. Why the world itself acts as if nothing happened?
"Natsuki, explain what happened." A dead person doesn't speak. How did Aleit manage to defy this common sense?
Subaru observed as more Minya crystals formed. This time, however, around the commander. He could feel Kage was pushing her limits. Keeping an Ul Shamac ready to release, casting El Vita on Gerulf, debuffing both the commander and Gerulf at unison, forming more Minya crystals than he can count. But even her enormous mana pool had its limits.
"-Kage, stand down.-" He focused on the bond between them. It was intact. He had felt it break, but it stood intact.
"-Who did this to you? Was it him?-"
Subaru felt Kage trying to create more crystals, but her gate refused, as it was already at its limits.
"-Kage, stop.-"
She let El Vita on Gerulf dissipate.
"-Who?-" She didn't seem convinced.
"-No one. I-I'm not sure. Let everyone go.-"
All crystals around them dissipated in an instant. Subaru felt Kage letting go of her debuffs as well. Yet she didn't stop draining for more mana. Only Subaru and she knew her reserves were near the bottom. She had to use everything she had in store.
"I gave enough time to you, Lieutenant Natsuki," Aleit stared at Subaru, her hand resting on the hilt of her sword. "Explain, or even your family name won't get you out of our current predicament."
Subaru took a deep breath and blinked several times to let the tears disappear. He felt like a mad man, but he saw no other way; he forced his logical side to come up and find out what happened. He had no divine protection. His brother told him that. He could be under the effects of an advanced curse or custom magic. A plausible explanation, but it didn't feel right to him. He did ponder the chance if he developed a technique like fews select people he heard about. Even in his hopeless state Subaru refused to believe such a thing. It only left him the option that he died and returned in time. It seemed so ludicrous he didn't want to ponder about it. Reality has its limits. What happened would remain. One can not reverse their actions. Only remedy.
He made his mind up. Prophecy it is. Might as well start a religion while I'm at it, he thought to himself.
"My commander, I saw a peculiar vision." Subaru's words were cut short as Aleit's sword made its way towards his threads of will that held him upright were only inches away from its demise, threatened by Aleit's blade.
"-Oh, you dare.-" Kage forced herself to form Minya crystals, but she was almost out of mana and strained her gate.
"Natsuki Subaru Astrea, I do not appreciate deception under any circumstances," She spoke word by word, putting emphasis on 'not'. She didn't seem to mind half a dozen Minya crystals forming around them. "I must insist for you to tell the truth. I prefer not to be known as the commander who arrested Sword Saint's brother."
"I-I-I don't know. I saw you and everyone di…" Subaru felt as If everything froze.
Motionless.
He tried to speak. He had no voice to do so. He tried to move. He had no power to do so. Only for a brief period, a power held him captive. He felt a firm grasp in his chest as if a hand tightened around his heart.
He fell on his legs, grasping his chest. Subaru didn't know what to make of it. His mind was too confused to even feel terror.
Am I losing my mind?
Everything he experienced- the pain, the slaughter, the scent of burned flesh- felt real. Still, wouldn't a hallucination feel real as well? All this could be going on in his mind. Subaru embraced this lie as his mind saw no way out.
"Commander, may I ask what kind of circus is going on here?" These words arose from a middle-aged man who made his ire clear. "Holding an Astrea captive with a sword?" Subaru felt two firm handholds him in his arms and raise him to his feet. Well, who would scold him around now? "I have been a humble knight of this kingdom for more than fifteen years, and I have yet to see an action so defying of common sense."
Subaru had nothing but ire for Axel. But now, seeing him stand up for him, not recognizing him, felt weird. Everything and everyone felt out of place. It was like a scene play where the roles of actors shuffled. Subaru watched as Axel walked between him and the commander.
"Axel, move."
"You owe us an explanation, Aleit."
"His spirit held his second-in-command captive, and he is behaving in an erratic manner."
"Have you ever considered he might have been under the effect of a curse or any other spell?" Axel's voice runs deep and sharp. "He has the fewer reasons to entertain any negative intentions, yet I find you pointing a sword at his neck. What is your next brilliant idea?"
"Watch your language, Axel."
"Am I under orders, commander?"
Even in his current situation, Subaru could see Aleit losing the grips of her own unit.
Subaru observed Aleit unsheath her sword and observe her surroundings. Everyone, including Gerulf, was looking at her as if she lost her mind.
"I will delegate scouts," She looked towards Subaru. "We will talk about this incident at a later date."
"I will be glad to join," Axel spoke.
Aleit walked away as Gerulf walked towards Subaru and Axel.
"Charcoal, what is going on with you?" Gerulf seemed more worried about Subaru than himself. If it wasn't for the chaos going around him, Subaru would've felt conflicted, if not touched. Fear that had taken a hold in his mind still ran rampant, yet he could not find why.
"I have no idea," Subaru told the truth. "I have seen things I cannot hope to explain," Subaru's eyes locked onto Gerulf's spear's tip. He could still picture it being stuck under the burning rubble of a tent.
Was it real? Was he hallucinating?
"-I don't understand. What happened, Subaru?-" Subaru could feel Kage's confusion. She understood people around him weren't responsible. Yet this brought up the biggest question. "-How?-"
A glittering black sphere took form once more. Subaru did not let his gaze go, fearing that she might turn to dust if he looked away.
"I don't know, Kage."
"Hey, umm, the angry spirit," Gerulf spoke. "Am I free from your wrath?"
"She says yes" Subaru took the initiative.
"-Don't speak on my behalf, idiot. I was going to ask for monthly payments for my expenses,-" Kage screamed in fury at her contractor's idiocy.
"-You are a spirit. You have no expenses.-"
"-I will have a physical form one day; I need to start from somewhere.-"
"-I can pay for you,-" Subaru tried to reason with his spirit's greed.
"-Is this even a question? Of course, you will. I wouldn't mind extras as well.-"
"I do hope I'm not interrupting an important subject between a spirit and its contractor," Axel interjected. "May I ask about your current condition, Sir Natsuki?" He seemed concerned. Too concerned for Subaru's dismay.
"Thank you, Colonel Axel," He paused for a brief moment to make up his mind. " Why did you stand up for me?"
"I do owe much to your big brother, kid," Axel uttered the words Subaru heard and will hear for all his life.
"May I ask how so?"
"He destroyed a bandit clan that was occupying a small town. I could not come to aid as my unit and I had been at the Vollachian border," Axel sighed. "My family is a minor house, so we can't afford to hire more than five guards," He looked back at Subaru with eyes filled with warmth. "Thank the Dragon, your brother alone defeated the bandits without losing anyone. I do not want to entertain the thought of what could've been if my family fell into slavery or worse; it's not uncommon for bandits to behead people and put on spikes as entertainment."
Subaru's eyes widened as he heard the word beheaded. He ran towards where Commander Aleit went with all his might, leaving both Axel and Gerulf dazzled. If everything was a dream, he shouldn't be able to recognize the scout's face.
"-Stop doing weird stuff. I can't keep up,-" Kage pleaded, but Subaru couldn't muster an answer. His focus was on something else.
He ran like the gale until he saw the familiar brunette standing still, talking with a group of scouts. Subaru walked towards them. Commander will not be happy to see me, he thought to himself.
He stood next to the commander and cleared his throat to get her attention. He inspected the line of men standing in front of him. He felt relief as he couldn't recognize any one of them. He wanted to believe he hallucinated.
He stopped on his track, next to the commander. Line of scouts, all wearing the expeditionary clothing of the kingdom, looked at him oddly. This oddness brewed from the fact Subaru was inspecting them, one by one. He feared to recognize any of them. Thankfully, he did not. Another proof of reason in this insanity.
Lady luck never favored Subaru. This time was no exception.
"Commander, I'm quite sorry for the inconvenience," A slim man ran past him, his uniform worn as if an animal slithered inside it. Hair unkempt. Head connected with his body. A face Subaru had seen before inside a bush with its body missing.
I must have seen him before, he tried to convince himself. He could've heard Axel's name before as well. Subaru had to gather his will to not ask the man if he died recently.
"Speak your mind, soldier," Aleit spoke.
Subaru saw no other choice to convince himself once and for all.
"May I ask for my unit to support the scouts, Commander?"
Subaru recognized the path they walked.
He tried to find excuses for that as well. The forest itself had a similar climate to the forest he and his brother had walked to. Well, it was because of the forest's name, Forest of Elves. He smiled to himself thinking those moments, an idiot searching for elves in a forest. He wouldn't mind finding a cute elven girl at the time, but thinking back, it would probably be a catastrophe.
Speaking of catastrophe.
"We will break for camp here."
Subaru turned towards the scout as if he grew a second head. It was past noon. His other four companions also thought the same. Subaru recognized the opening they stopped. He decided to focus on safety. Please let me be wrong, he thought to himself. Subaru walked next to Gerulf.
He hoped he was wrong about this.
Everyone walked towards the opening as Subaru poked Gerulf's shoulder. Gerulf looked at him, one eyebrow raised.
"Gerulf," Subaru whispered, walking next to him. "Post everyone at guard duty, and don't inform the scouts. Tell everyone to act like nothing is going on."
Subaru looked forward as if he talked about nothing.
"-Kage, always stay invisible and patrol camp's surroundings,-"
"-If you want me to.-"
"Charcoal, why?"
Both spoke in unison. Subaru knew at the end of the day, he had either seen the future or gone mad. Hopefully the latter.
"There will be an ambush by the witch-cult," Subaru turned his head to see Gerulf's face. A mix of shock and curiosity. Great. "I don't know when or how, I only know they will come."
"Subaru, you will tell me what is going on or I'm not cooperating," Gerulf spoke louder than intended. His gaze shifted towards the scouts. His palm grasped the hilt of the sword. None of the scouts looked their way. He relaxed and let the scouts go. It seemed like they didn't hear Gerulf.
Subaru felt Kage flew away without saying a word, making circles above the opening.
"I don't know," Subaru pondered on what to say. "Did you ever feel like you lived the same thing before?"
"I did?"
"Now, imagine it happening for an entire day," Subaru put his hand on Gerulf's shoulder. "If I'm wrong, we will only have one sleepless night; if I'm right, this will save our lives."
Gerulf began walking towards one of their unit members as he spoke. "I truly hope you are wrong about this."
The last glints of sun began to die as dusk settled. Subaru could see his unit looking at him from time to time.
"-Kage, anything so far?-"
"-I don't know. I did see some branches move, but it's probably the wind.-"
"-Keep your eyes open.-"
Subaru tried to picture the moment he, supposedly, found this camp. The moon hung above when he arrived. That meant if what he saw was true, they will be attacked around an hour, if not less. His unit began searching the forest past noon, so the battle between the cultists and scouts ended quickly. If there was even a battle, Subaru thought to himself. He looked around where he sat.
He pondered where he would've attacked from if he were the attacker. The bushes wouldn't provide much cover. The trees, while a good cover, would also alert any incoming person, as the ground was littered with dead branches.
Subaru guessed there would be five witch cultists at most. They already had the ambush advantage. More men for five scouts seemed like overkill. They would also risk exposing themselves if they sent more men.
His hand, firmly grasping the hilt of his sword, loosened. Gerulf, on the other hand, still seemed tense. His spear laid right next to him, it's shaft resting on the log he sat upon. Subaru was about to speak until Gerulf suddenly got up.
"Why are you going into the woods?"
Subaru also stood up and turned his gaze towards where Gerulf was looking at. The leader of the scouts observed them for a moment. His face seemed expressionless. Subaru's eyes opened wide as he remembered one thing. They only found one body.
"-Subaru, the trees, they are moving,-" Kage flew towards Subaru.
Subaru cursed himself, as he forgot one simple fact. They were surrounded by a forest. It did mean dry branches, but that branches came from somewhere. The trees. He never witnessed knights being able to do parkour and assumed the same for cultists.
"AMBUSH," Subaru shouted. "TREES, THEY ARE AT THE TREES."
His dozen men got up with weapons drawn as they searched for the enemy. Three scouts seemed confused as to what was going on
Gerulf wasted no time as he grabbed his spear and sent a wind blade towards the trees.
A shout of pain was heard as a body dropped. Subaru only saw the black hood.
Symphony of steel clashing to steel echoed throughout the forest as the battle began.
"-Subaru, there is a child.-"
"-A child?-" Subaru didn't understand what Kage meant. It made no sense for a child to be here.
Subaru unsheathed his sword. He raised it in the nick of time as the traitor's blade made contact with his own. His arms felt heavy. Theraitor scout frantically swung his sword with everything he got.
"-Kage, go for the child,-"
"-O-okay."
"Just die."
With an upper slash towards his head, Subaru's sword met his.
"-Kage?-"
"Just die."
A right down slash towards his thigh. Subaru took a step back and heard faint screams belonging to a young girl.
"-El shamac,-" Subaru gritted his teeth as he felt Kage's emotions.
"Please die."
The Sword of the traitor formed a crescent as it descended towards his chest. Subaru's sword met his, the clash of steel ringing on both of their ears.
"-I can't hit the cultists,-" Kage said.
"If you don't die…"
The traitorous scout thrusted his sword, aiming at Subaru's heart. Subaru brought his sword close to himself and dashed forward as he pushed the traitor's sword aside. He swung his left arm, using his momentum to land a decisive blow. It was enough to displace and crack his jawbone
The traitor fell. Subaru stomped on his right wrist with all he got and broke his wrist bones.
The man screamed in agony on the ground. He tried to speak, but Subaru couldn't hear it properly. The chaos of battle disallowed the last words of common men.
Subaru looked around, his hands shaking. Something made no sense.
Why haven't any of them attacked him so far?
The cultists didn't run for the traitor scout's aid when they fought. Even now, cultists largely ignored Subaru.
Except one who knelt before him.
Subaru looked dumbfounded as the cultist rose back to his feet and ran towards his subordinate, Gerulf, who was fighting against witch cultists.
"-Kage, help Gerulf. I will handle the child,-" with that, Subaru ran towards Kage's location.
Dead branches he relied on cracked under his feet as he ran. His legs wanted to let go; Subaru didn't let them. He grasped his whip, as he saw the witch cultist holding his dagger next to the little girl's throat.
"-Kage, leave and help others,-" Subaru ordered as he walked towards the witch cultist. He had a plan. A desperate one. "-I will handle him and rejoin you.-"
"-No, let me help.-"
"-Kage, people are dying at the opening.-"
Subaru closed the distance between himself and the cultist as Kage flew away. Subaru's eyes shifted towards the little girl. There was a nasty wound in her head; Subaru's face twisted in anger. He could see the pommel of the cultist's dagger shining crimson under the moonlight. Blood.
"Let the kid go, and I will let you leave."
He knew cultists were known to never negotiate, but he didn't want to risk the kid's life.
To Subaru's surprise, the cultist let the child go. He then pressed his head to the ground as if waiting for Subaru's mercy. The girl hugged onto Subaru's leg and wailed as he stood still.
"Leave."
The cultist looked up to Subaru as he spoke.
"I order you to leave."
The cultist raised itself onto its feet and disappeared a moment after.
They listen to my orders, he thought to himself. Subaru didn't want to think why as he ran towards the battlefield. He held the little girl in his arms all the while healing her head. He crouched and placed the girl near a bush.
"Stay still."
"-Kage?-"
"-Subaru, you should leave here.-"
Subaru ran towards the opening once more. He didn't want to. Yet he also didn't want to flee.
The revolting stench of blood greeted him. Subaru saw the ground littered with corpses of scouts, cultists, his soldiers, and the new friends he made. Almost no one was left alive after the cultists' suicidal charge. He felt Kage fighting against a cultist in the woods.
He didn't have time to mourn as he heard another shout. As he turned, Subaru saw Gerulf being cornered by two cultists. It was clear Gerulf was about to be killed.
His whip cracked the air as it tangled one of the cultist's legs. Subaru pulled it back. This maneuver only gave Gerulf a brief opening, but it was enough.
Gerulf jumped back and slashed in front of him. A blade of wind cut through both cultists without concern or mercy. They took too much from him.
Gerulf flipped his grip and threw his spear. The raven haired boy barely had the time to throw himself to the ground. Subaru heard a loud thud before he could shout. Subaru turned back only to see a cultist impaled by Gerulf's spear.
The cultists body fell under its own weight. His torso was propped up above the ground by the very spear that took his life.
"Thanks for the assist."
Gerulf collapsed onto his knees. Subaru could hear his subordinate sobbing as he ran towards where Kage was.
"-Ul Shamac-"
The trees in front of him got covered with purple crystal. Subaru felt relief as the bond between himself and Kage was intact.
"-Kage?-"
"-Subaru, I got this one. Run.-"
His trusted spirit flew towards the battlefield, yet Subaru's focus was directed towards something else... Someone else. Subaru stared at the cultist that was entrapped in purple crystal, his expression matching his intentions.
Kage flew towards the battlefield. Subaru did not bother to call out to her. His attention was focused on something much more important. He looked into the hollow eyes of his immobilized captive.
"-Ah… it's unnecessary.-"
Subaru wanted to cry. He wanted to take his anger out on the cultist that laid before him. He grasped the hilt of his sword, filled with desire to inflict pain on the man that lied before him. His allies, men, people that listened to his words all laid dead on the battlefield, left as food for crows and foxes that run rampant in these lands. He truly wanted to torture the man that laid before him. But sadly, he couldn't.
This captive had much better use than letting his anger loose.
"Gerulf, there is a kid," Subaru pointed towards the bush where he left the child. "Get her. I will get the cultist."
Gerulf looked up, his green eyes looking stale. His mischievous nature seemed more corrupt as he looked between the battlefield and him. Subaru could tell Gerulf's entire mind was on the brink of collapse. Yet his eyes shone with fury.
"Kage managed to capture a prisoner."
Gerulf wanted to slaughter all the cultists he could get his hands on.
Leaving all his men's bodies right next to them didn't feel right to him. He began taking deep, slow breaths, trying to calm himself with the thoughts of dead cultists. However, in his heart, Gerulf didn't want to calm down. He wanted to embrace the inferno inside him. He desired to run into the forest and kill every single cultist he could find. Yet, he couldn't afford to. A small gremlin grasping his hair as she sat down on his shoulders prevented that.
"Are we there yet?"
Gerulf resisted the urge to shout at the girl on top of him. He and Subaru had barely managed to hide the fact there was a slaughter right next to where she hid. He didn't want to deal with a crying child as well. It will be over soon, he thought to himself.
Kid said her uncle belonged to the ones wearing fancy uniforms. He and Subaru guessed the kid either meant veterans or scouts. Unfortunately, it was probably the latter.
Gerulf pushed the little girl's verdant hair aside. He didn't want to acknowledge her existence under any form, but her legs dangling next to his throat and her shins hitting his chest did little to help. Her pale hands, blocking his sight on occasion, did not aid him either.
"We will be at camp soon," Gerulf spoke begrudgingly.
"Speak to me with proper etiquette, peasant," replied his passenger, kicking his chest with the heel of her shoes. The little girl grasped Gerulf's hair even more harshly, much to his dismay.
The man in front of him let out a dry chuckle. Gerulf wondered what was on Subaru's mind, as his superior carried one of the cultists entrapped in a crystal.
Was it similar to his?
He didn't know what Subaru was thinking about. He didn't know where he disappeared in the battle, only to return with a little girl near the end. He didn't know how Subaru knew there will be an ambush.
He did wonder though. How did Subaru know this would happen? His thoughts cut short as Gerulf felt more pain on his head; little girl he carried demanded more attention.
"You never told us your name, little miss," Gerulf said. He hoped that maybe the girl would let his hair go. "You should also know I'm a noble. House Fenne may be small, but we are still nobles."
"My mount is a noble, how relieving it is to hear that," the little girl spoke callously. "Still, a minor noble is still a noble. I will bestow you with my name."
"I'm forever grateful for your great show of sincerity."
"Silence with your cynicism, peasant. You are in the presence of Carol Roth."
Subaru suddenly stopped for a moment, causing Gerulf to abruptly stop as well, the little girl beginning to strangle him.
"How closely are you related to Crusch Karsten?"
"Second degree cousins," Carol answered. "My My, It seems like the Astrea knows proper etiquette at least. May I ask how do you know we are related?"
"I had to memorize big houses and the small ones related to them," Subaru responded. His words seemed dry to Gerulf. "Courtesy of your name sake, Carol Remendis."
"She seems to be a wise lady," Carol spoke. "Speaking of ladies, you seem to be familiar with my cousin."
"Second degree cousin."
"I thought an Astrea would be brave. Yet you avoid my question."
"We met twice," Subaru said. "I'm not in a proper state right now. My apologies."
"If you will be bothered by a dozen deaths as a knight, I suggest you stay as an inventor, Natsuki Subaru."
Gerulf's eye widened as the little girl finished her words. He grabbed the girl sitting on his shoulders and put it on the floor.
"How did you know?"
"I'm not deaf. You two idiots couldn't even think of that," Carol spoke. She glimpsed over Gerulf's shoulder and then spoke. "I do understand you two just survived a battle, but be more careful next time when lying."
"Aren't you afraid?"
"I was until this knight saved me," she spoke while pointing at Subaru. "Take example, canary."
"How about your uncle?"
"Gerulf, enough," Subaru said.
"I don't care," Carol said while looking aside. "My family asked him to deliver me to them. In his infinite wisdom he thought it would be a good idea to bring me with this poor excuse of a knight unit," she suddenly closed her mouth with both of her hands. "Sorry, Natsuki Astrea. You surely will be promoted soon, so I hope you didn't take offence."
"I would be rather glad if we just continued our walk," Subaru spoke as he turned back.
"Then carry me," the little girl said, raising her arms like a child asking to be embraced. "I don't want to bother with this canary."
Subaru sighed as he slowly put down the purple crystal.
Gerulf was looking at Subaru, as he felt a breathing near his ear. Little girl whispered to his ear before walking towards Subaru.
"Look at him. A proper man. Even the cultist knelt out of fear when he ordered him to release me."
With that, the little girl walked towards Subaru while humming a joyful rhythm.
"Gerulf, could you carry the cultist?"
Yet Gerulf didn't answer as he was frozen in his place.
Even the cultist kneeled
These words sent echoes throughout the Gerulf's mind. It all made sense now. He didn't want to believe it. It didn't make sense, yet it also explained everything.
Why didn't he kill everyone? Without his spirits' help, he would've died as well. Subaru could also kill him if he could get spirits' help. Gerulf knew he couldn't beat Kage and Subaru simultaneously. He can't even win against Subaru consistently.
Gerulf guessed one of the scouts was the traitor, but him, brother of the sword saint, to be the traitor? He didn't. It seemed such a long shot he barely comprehended it.
Did the little girl lie? This seemed plausible, but the kid didn't seem to grasp the danger the witch cult represented. It also didn't explain the fact that Subaru didn't kill any of the cultists. Gerulf had only witnessed Kage stun one for him to kill and capture the other.
He had aroused suspicion for no reason at the camp. Was it a trick to make people pity him? Maybe it was to make others think he was a victim. Maybe he got possessed. Gerulf didn't know everything about Subaru. He can't even prove the person in front of him was Natsuki Subaru. He heard Archbishops had mysterious powers. This didn't explain Kage's ongoing loyalty, but there could be other ways as well.
"Gerulf?"
Gerulf realized he was standing still for a while now. He looked back at Subaru's amber eyes. They seemed full of anxiety and fear. It could be an act, Gerulf thought to himself.
"I can carry your spear for you if that is what you are thinking," Subaru said.
"NO," Gerulf stopped for a brief moment. "I mean, no need. I can carry it myself. You two high nobles can go ahead. I will watch our backs."
Subaru shrugged as the little girl cheered him. Subaru made some spirits come forth as he walked to entertain Carol.
"You have a lovely name, do you know that?"
"Look canary," Carol said while pointing at Subaru. "Proper etiquette."
Gerulf grabbed the crystal Subaru left and lifted it up under his arm. It seemed much lighter than expected.
"I made Kage cast Minya on him, so you can carry it with one arm."
Gerulf's eye shifted towards the dark sphere playing with the girl. Gerulf knew well what the little sphere, Kage, was capable of. He spent around a month with them. They began to grow on him in recent days.
If Subaru got possessed, he would save him.
If Subaru was a traitor, he would kill him.
Subaru didn't know what to make of life as he and Gerulf walked towards the commander's tent with a cultist as luggage.
A twisted, sharp, and venomous sense formed within his chest. Guilt. He led his man to their death. He didn't want to talk about it but was sure Gerulf thought the same about him. He caught Gerulf glimpsing at him with fiery eyes.
"-It wasn't your fault.-"
"-It was.-"
"-Subaru, think about it. Remember what Helmuth said. They are dangerous.-"
"-And I ended up drawing my entire squad against a fight with them.-"
"-It was an impossible battle.-"
"-You can't change my mind, Kage. I will renounce my knighthood when our mission ends.-"
"-Subaru-"
"-This was a mistake. I'm a petulant child who got over his head.-"
Saving people. The reason he joined knighthood. Save people like his brother. But now, He was responsible for over twelve deaths. Subaru caught himself chuckling for everything he heard. Life itself seemed funny now. His selfish curiosity caused this. He justified his selfish curiosity as a way to help the scouts.
He was mistaken.
He didn't know cultists would attack four scouts with eleven of them. This is not an excuse, he thought to himself. His brother would've found the archbishop and put it down for good. Not lose twelve people who relied on him. Subaru cursed himself, as there were names he didn't even remember.
Yet he killed them.
"Natsuki Subaru Astrea, where is the rest of your man?" Aleit, his commander, spoke without mercy.
Aleit seemed to be between either beheading Subaru or consoling him. Subaru opened his mouth a few times, yet no words came out.
"We ended up in an ambush by witch cultists," Gerulf spoke before Subaru. "Subaru managed to guess there would be one, and we braced ourselves. Yet it wasn't enough. Only Subaru and I survived, Commander."
"My spirit found Carol Roth," Subaru forced himself to finish the report. He did notice Gerulf left the part he was away from the battle out. "I focused on her rescue and sent my spirit to aid my men. I only arrived towards the end of the battle."
"How did you save Carol?" Axel spoke, breaking his silence.
"I-I told the cultist to leave the child alone or I would kill him."
It wasn't a lie.
"Witch cultists never run. It seems like you took a bit from your brother," Axel spoke. Subaru could see Axel was trying to lighten his mood.
"Twelve more men lost," Aleit spoke. Her kindling wrath was quite clear by her tone. For Subaru's fortune, it wasn't directed towards him. "You two are lucky to survive. Even luckier to bring a prisoner."
Aleit walked in front of the cultist lying on the ground. She unsheathed her sword. Subaru didn't understand what they were doing when Axel also walked at the other side of the cultist.
"Natsuki, let the crystal go."
"Kage."
"-On it.-"
Subaru observed the crystal turn to dust. The moment the cultist opened his eyes, his left arm began to glow. Wasting no time, Aleit cut the entire arm off the cultist. Axel stepped his foot on the Cultist's throat. Not forceful enough to kill him but enough to silence and make him unable to cast magic. The cultist tried to bring his right arm towards his, now stumped, left arm. Axel stepped on the other hand of the cultist to make sure that didn't happen.
"Natsuki, heal his arm."
"Commander, I can't re-attach an arm."
Aleit turned towards Subaru with tired eyes.
"Make sure he doesn't die. I don't want him in top shape. Now, follow orders."
Subaru ran at the cultist side. He focused on the spirits floating around him. A dull pale light formed on his arm as he reached his hands out. Subaru did train himself for healing with spirits, and his affinity helped a lot, but he had a limit. He could only stabilize a wound on this scale. He sat back up.
"I'm done."
"What are you going to do, Commander Lady?" Carol asked as she observed Aleit.
Aleit walked towards the cultist's legs. Subaru's eyes widened as she raised her feet. She then crushed the cultist's groin with no mercy. She continued to twist the heel of his boots to intensify the pain. The cultist, out of desperation, tried to shift his position. Kick the floor. Do anything to lessen the pain. Every time he moved, Aleit twisted his heels more.
"I like you even more now," Carol giggled, it seemed like she enjoyed the suffering of the cultist.
"Now, listen to me," Subaru felt a chill down his spine as Aleit spoke. "When my fellow knight removes his foot from your throat, you will answer our questions."
Axel unsheathed his sword and held it close to the cultist's throat but not close enough to let the cultist kill himself. Still, it was more than enough to pierce his throat.
"If you try any sudden moves, I will continue to crush your groin."
Axel removed his foot. The cultist coughed a few times. He looked at Aleit with lustful looking eyes, as if he was inspecting her.
"There are men who enjoy this kind of treatment, sweetie."
"Axel."
Axel's foot crushed the Cultist's throat again. Aleit kept her word, as she crushed the man's groin with impunity. She twisted her heels again. The cultist's painful voices echoed, again. Aleit make additions to her method of torture and raised her feet to kick him where it hurt the most.
She stopped. Axel raised his boot once more.
"Did you enjoy it?" A lustful smile formed on Aleits face, as if she were a woman talking to their partner.
"You crazy bitch. Arg…"
"Axel."
"Stop, I will talk."
Subaru raised an eyebrow. He did feel similar pain when watching a man get kicked in the family jewel, yet the cultist's confession seemed too quick.
"Why should I trust you?"
"Because I don't have to stay silent," the Cultist laughed with hysteria. "Such potent love, yet I noticed it too late."
"Be more precise," Aleit stabbed the man's thigh. Yet the cultist didn't seem fazed as if his mind grew uncaring to the pain he felt.
"Her love, it surrounds this tent. It surrounds the forest," the Cultist turned his head towards Subaru. "I'm blessed by her, getting to see the Pride before going for her embrace."
Subaru felt a razor-sharp feeling behind his chest, threatening to impale his heart with a moment's notice. He also felt the mana of wind focused on the spear's tip.
"Subaru, tell me the cultist is wrong."
Twelve minya crystals formed around Gerulf. Kage didn't get to restore her mana thanks to the show of force in the morning. The battle didn't help either, as she had to use shamac on many levels, many times.
"-Subaru, don't worry.-"
"Cry all you want, kid. Three of you can't win against an Archbishop, let alone two." The cultist continued to laugh.
Axel slashed the cultist's cheek. Leaving a considerable cut where blood dripped the soil below. "Answer the questions. I won't believe your games to divide us, witch lover."
Axel didn't seem to believe the cultist.
Aleit looked between Subaru and the cultist. Unsure.
Then there was Gerulf, who could kill him at a moment's notice.
"What did you mean by two?"
Aleit's voice was empty.
"I'm not brave enough to do our Archbishop's introduction myself. Ul GO.."
Axel impaled the cultist's throat. Only a gurgling sound came out as he died, drowning in his own blood.
This left only one elephant in the room.
"Subaru, you haven't answered my question yet. Are you a witch cultist?"
Subaru felt the spear's tip pierce his back. A drop of blood drifted down before Amanrath healed him. Subaru's mind rambled with the questions. He wasn't going mad. He did see the future. It changed. Could he salvage it? He didn't want to die. He didn't want to feel that pain.
"I won't repeat myself."
"If you kill the kid, you won't leave this tent alive," Axel turned his sword towards Gerulf.
"Three."
"-Let me kill him, Subaru-"
"Two."
"Second Lieutenant Gerulf, lower your weapon."
"One."
"I'm not with the cult," Subaru spoke. "I don't know how I learned this either. I saw there would be an ambush, and we would come late, only to find one corpse," Subaru's body began to shake and his breathing hitched. "I-I carried back and brought it to camp. W-We died ton…"
Subaru felt that unnatural moment again. Time itself comes to a halt. Uneasy tranquility conquered all. Subaru felt something enter within his chest.
"I love you."
He felt a tight grasp around his heart. Despite it lasting for a brief second, for Subaru, it was an eternity.
Time began to move once more as he collapsed.
The twisted, sharp, and venomous sense within yearned to leave his stomach. Subaru felt it climb upwards. His body trembled as his clenched jaw opened. His mouth filled with the taste of vomit as it got out on the floor.
He tried to breathe. Its putrid scent and sour taste filled his senses. His breathing slowed down, as his body felt some relief. He tried to grasp on the lie one last time.
They weren't attacked yet. The future wasn't the same as he saw. He didn't ponder the changes he could've caused.
A lie, something so wrong, yet so gentle.
Yet Subaru learned in a moment that there are things in life that are constant; lady luck did not favor him.
He heard a painful scream, the sound of someone losing their life. All being burnt away in tents that sheltered them, now serving as their tomb. Subaru could hear the sound of impacts. He ran to the entrance of the tent.
He didn't care that Gerulf might impale him from his back.
"-Subaru, we must run.-"
He didn't care about Kage's pleas.
"By the Od," Axel said.
He didn't care about Axel dropping his sword by the sight of carnage laid before them.
"EVERYONE, GATHER AT MY LOCATION," Aleit shouted.
He didn't care about Aleits orders.
He wasn't a fool. He didn't think for a moment this was a battle. No. He was looking at a mayhem.
Dry tents and grass set ablaze by a salvo of fireballs set the world alight. Subaru could smell the burning flesh as he dragged his feet towards the burning tents. He didn't have to see or smell them though. Screams of pain as the men burned were enough to tell the tale, people perishing by the burning inferno.
Only ash remained… or would remain of them. Most knew the fire covering the camp would see them to their funeral.
A cultist ran towards where he walked. Subaru only turned his head as the cultist neared.
He didn't bother to react as another knight dashed out of a tent and decapitated the cultist almost next to him. The gore found its way on Subaru's face.
He saw Gerulf running past him. He guessed Gerulf was running to aid the front lines.
"-Subaru, stop. We have to find Patrasche and run.-"
Subaru's eyes widened as he realized one small detail. He was much closer to Patrasche. The attack didn't seem to be ongoing for a long time.
He ran with all his might where he remembered Patrasche was. The prospect of being able to save someone, anyone, from their demise pushed him. If he gets on to Patrasche, he could run away from the battlefield.
He didn't want to face the Archbishop.
If what he saw is true, that means he was nigh unbeatable. Subaru didn't want to feel that pain, again. He didn't want to die, again.
Subaru ran past the burning tents. His sweat stung his eyes like tiny vipers, dripping down from a gore sprayed face. All around him were nothing but fire and burning corpses. The putrid metallic stench of burning flesh became more and more familiar to him. He couldn't care. Subaru's body felt like a puppet, moved by a puppeteer named desperation
His path seemed clear. Yet he saw two recognizable figures at the edge of his sight, making their way through the frontlines as he ran towards somewhere else.
A brunette and a middle-aged man with ashen hair. Aleit and Axel.
Subaru knew what fate awaited them. Pain. Pain that begs them for death. Pain served as the precursor of death.
Subaru looked towards where he was running. His path seemed clear. He had enough time. If he ran on his own with Kage and Patrasche, he might have a chance.
Yet his gaze locked at the two figures running, fighting with the vanguard. Subaru sighed and ran with whatever he got towards the two figures.
They could also be helpful for a breakthrough, he justified his actions to his panicked mind. Subaru reached them, only to find the two surrounded by cultist corpses. There were three veterans standing near them.
Subaru stopped near Axel and Aleit. He tried to fill his lungs but only got a sliver of air. The flame surrounding them increased the heat and raised the air. Leaving them almost no air to breathe.
"Save your breath before speaking, Subaru," Axel said.
"Do you want to be in the thick of battle, lieutenant?"
Subaru looked up. He saw both Aleit and Axel staring at him.
"Aren't you two suspicious of me?"
"Your face tells enough that you are not. Where is your subordinate?" Aleit asked.
"He ran towards the frontlines."
"Natsuki, everywhere is the front lines," Aleit sighed. She seemed more accustomed to the lack of air between them. "Six of us will have to do."
"Do what?"
"Kill the Archbishop. Cultists will flee if we kill their leader; at least I hope so," Aleit said as she handed a white piece of cloth to Subaru.
"Clean your face."
Subaru touched his face, realizing it was a mixture of blood and sweat. It did explain the metallic taste in his mouth, right next to the sour and putrid one.
Subaru grabbed the cloth and cleaned his face. He knew he had to choose his next words carefully to convince them to retreat or make a breakthrough. He heard another scream close by. Each scream, a lost life. If they ran, they might be able to get help. The first unit, or the Royal Knights if their luck decided to turn.
"We can't win."
Aleit and Axel turned back as Subaru spoke.
"We can't win. Even if we attack at the same time, it would amount to nothing. He will crush us before we reach halfway."
"How do you know?"
"I DON'T KNOW HOW," Subaru's desperation placed itself to more intense emotion. Something within him also burned. The unfairness. Anger. "I DON'T KNOW. ALL I KNOW IS IT WILL HAPPEN. HOW FUCKING HARD IT IS FOR YOU TO GRASP THAT. I DON'T WANT US TO DIE."
He ran out of air to shout as his lungs yearned for more.
Axel didn't bother to answer as he turned front, waiting in their adventitious position to greet the enemy before they went far away from the Archbishop.
"Even if what you say is true, I will not leave as long as a chance to save whoever I can is within my reach."
"It's normal to be afraid, Subaru," Axel broke his silence as his eyes locked at a single figure walking towards them. "Yet there are times you can't afford to run away. Not because you can't, but because people behind you can't."
Subaru didn't feel a surge of inspiration surge up in him. No. The sight before him granted another emotion. Despair. He saw two other cultists run to help their Archbishop.
Not that they or anyone made a difference.
"I'm a sin archbishop of the witch-cult, representing sloth" the mad man bent down as a showman. Greeting the knights before him. "Betelgeuse Romanee-Conti "
Two veterans surged forth to fight with the cultists as the remaining three of them ran towards the Archbishop.
"YOU, YOU, YOU STAND IN THE WAY OF HER LOVE," the madman shouted on top of his lungs. His body twisted in odd manners. His spine bending in what seemed impossible angles. His hands made a portrait in front of his face as if to capture the view. "UNSEEN HANDS"
Subaru's jaw dropped as the sight before him made no sense. Eight dark hands extended through the madmen's back and reached for the veteran running towards them. The veteran got raised through the air like a ragdoll, held by two hands. Both hands crushed him to the ground, leaving a bloody mess of flesh. Six hands made their way towards Axel and Aleit, who were a bit behind the veteran that recently perished.
"JUMP BACK."
Both Aleit and Axel threw themselves backward. Ground front of them crushed. Raising dust. For Subaru, nothing changed. For Axel and Aleit, their opponents made their weapons visible.
"NO NO NO NO NO NO, SEEING MY UNSEEN HANDS," The madman bit his fingers as he summoned two more hands.
"GOOD EYE, SUBARU" Axel cut in front of him. Slashing two unseen hands coming for him.
"PROOF OF HER LOVE," mad men bit his fingers. Summoning three more hands.
Aleit slashed in front of her and dashed towards the archbishop. She had to stop. Jump aside. Slash. Dash forward. Rinse and repeat until she reached her goal.
"-Kage, go high and invisible and then rain whatever you got on him.-"
"-Got it. Subaru, if it fails, run.-"
Kage flew high. Subaru felt confusion from Kage as she made her way towards the Archbishop.
Subaru felt a glimmer of hope form within him. Kage had almost no mana, at least for her standards, but one el minya would seal the deal. The dust helped Axel defend himself and even Aleit to take the offensive. Subaru's body tremor continued, yet he forced himself to draw the sword.
Hands didn't seem too fast. He couldn't evade ten of them, not in this shape. But with Aleit and Axel on his side, he wouldn't need to. Even if the Archbishop focused only on him, Aleit would kill the Archbishop before he could kill Subaru.
Subaru forced himself to take one step towards the battle.
Axel played a deadly game of tag. He jumped aside and slashed. He jumped aside again and slashed again.
Aleit pushed forward. "I WILL GUT YOU BASTARD," She shouted as the Archbishop laid steps away.
"SO SLOTHFUL," the madman bit his fingers again. "UNSEEN HANDS," many hands surged forth this time. Subaru forgot to account for a simple factor. He ran on the assumption that the Archbishop could only summon ten hands.
Aleit jumped back as the dust in the air dispersed, but it wasn't enough. Countless hands grasped her. Twisting her body much like drying a wet cloth. Subaru forced himself to dash towards the cultist. He wanted to help Aleit, not hear her shouts again. If he could land a single blow while the Archbishop focused on Aleit, that would be it. He had to jump back as more and more hands came for him.
"HOW DO YOU SEE PROOF OF HER LOVE?"
"YOU SHOUT THEIR GOD DAMN NAME AND HOW THE HELL DO YOU EXPECT ME TO NOT SEE THOSE BLACK THINGS?" Subaru shouted out of fury.
He jumped back and slashed at the hands coming from his right. Three more hands come one after another from above to crush him. Subaru jumped left and right akin to a dance, in which the punishment would be his demise.
Subaru felt something on his back before his entire body pushed towards him, hands coming from every direction to capture him. Their numbers were too many for him to count in the heat of battle.
Axel also tried to mount a last desperate assault, but he couldn't last as long as his more nimble counterparts. Subaru felt the unseen hands tighten around him. His body tremored. He feared what's to come, yet the hands did only squeeze him.
The madman sniffed the air like a huntsman dog, searching for his prey. The hands carried Subaru towards the Archbishop. Yet Betelgeuse seemingly meant no harm, only sniffing him up close. Subar heard indiscernible murmurs of the man, none would've made sense.
"Are you Pride?" Betelgeuse didn't wait for Subaru's answer. He instead revealed a black book from his robes. Switching page after page as if he was looking for something. "You are not in the gospel, proof of her love," madmen put his book back to his robes before ripping his own air out. "YET YET YOU ARE SURROUNDED BY HER LOVE," Betelgeuse lowered Subaru to his eye level.
Subaru's entire body shook even more out of desperation. His eyes opened wide out of fear. His muscles contracted. His entire body forced itself to move, but it only made the hand's grasp tighten.
I don't want to die
I don't want to die
I don't want to die
"Are you here to finish the ordeal before us?" Betelgeuse spoke. "YOU ARE WORKING DILIGENTLY FOR HER LOVE, ALREADY CAPTURING THE ELVES FOR HER NAME," Betelgeuse raised his hands to the hair.
"-EL MINYA-"
"UNSEEN HANDS"
Forty crystals formed in the air and flew towards Betelgeuse. All turned to dust as unseen, but visible hands flew high, grasping Kage and immediately tightening. Kage, having no mana reserves to restore herself, didn't have time to feel pain as her od crumbled.
Subaru tried to shout out. Grief. Pain. Anger. Yet the madman denied this. One unseen hand forcing his jaw shut, only his growls coming out.
"BUT YOU ARE SLOTHFUL," the madmen turned around him. "COULDN'T PROTECT THEM," the madmen brought two Royal Knights next to him as they shouted in pain. "COUl-"
A howling whistle pierced the air. Hands holding them got loose. Three of them fell onto the floor. Subaru coughed as he forced his head up to see what happened.
Betelgeuse's body stood half bent over, courtesy of the spear that impaled his heart. It got stuck midway, creating a support beam to hold his torso up.
Subaru tried to reach the bond between him and Kage. Only silence. He tried to stand up, only to fall again. He crawled where the last bits of Kage's od fell. Subaru tried to hold onto the small glitters of mana falling. He opened his hand wide, hoping he would catch some.
"Kage?"
He tried to dig the ground, trying to capture the small pieces of her to remake her, lost in his desperation, uncaring by the battle raging around him.
"Come out, you can hear me. Right?"
He forced as many spirits as he could to come out, looking around himself out of desperation. He didn't see any yin spirits. He felt a great earth spirit, but he didn't care. He tasted salt, droplets coming from his face fell onto the soil, covered with blood. It wasn't raining. He tried to clean his face with the waist of his cloth, only to make it worse. He began to laugh, his chest going up and down. He laughed at his own misery.
His ground dragon was most likely dead.
His childhood friend was dead. No room open for questioning.
There was a chance he was an Archbishop.
What's not to laugh, he chuckled. A pathetic chapter in a pathetic man's life, leaving a trail of corpses for others to follow his misery.
A strong hand grasped Subaru's shoulder. Subaru turned towards the owner of the hand, Axel. His laughter didn't stop.
"I know these words mean nothing, but don't blame yourself," Axel tightened his grasp. "She fought until the end."
Subaru's laughter intensified.
Gerulf was sure he killed the Archbishop.
He used the remaining spear with him as a support cane, dragging his bruised feet. The front line he supported collapsed. He only managed to slip away, as the blazing inferno surrounding them caused enough smoke, hiding the sight of his retreat.
All the cultists seemed to be converging towards a certain location, the rescued slaves' tents. He didn't care. Gerulf decided to find and rally some troops for a retreat but ended up finding the archbishop instead. Rest became history, he thought to himself.
He fastened his pace. Subaru seemed to be talking to Axel.
Gerulf felt guilty for what he did. He thought Subaru was a traitor and even a witch cultist. Yet he was fighting an Archbishop head-on. Gerulf promised himself to make it up to him if they both survive this carnage.
He heard Subaru's laughter as he came closer. It intensified. Subaru moved in a non-sensical manner, turning on one of his feet while extending the other. He moved like a puppet.
Gerulf took his stance and Axel jumped back, raising his sword with his intact right arm. Gerulf could see Axel's left arm, broken.
"You are too late," Subaru spoke in a calm manner. "I'm sin Archbishop representing Sloth," both Axel and Gerulf froze in their place as 'Subaru' spoke. "Petelgeuse Romanee-Conti, at your service," Subaru bent his neck as if he was trying to break it.
"LEAVE THE KID ALONE," Axel tried to knock Subaru out with the pommel of his sword. He never had a chance.
"UNSEEN HANDS," the madman didn't even bother to bite 'his' fingers.
Axel suffered fate worse than others, torn to pieces as if he were a doll, made up of thread and cotton if one ignored his momentary screams of pain. Bloods. of muscle tissue. This new 'Subaru' didn't seem concerned by their visage or the fact they covered him.
Gerulf tightened his hold on the spear. He knew his previous kill was out of pure luck. This time it would be a head-on battle.
He wished he said a proper goodbye to the people he left at home.
'Subaru' turned towards his direction. Gerulf frowned. This Subaru didn't seem fast. It looked like it hesitated and his body tremored.
"FANTASTIC," 'Subaru began to touch himself, inspecting his new body. "WHAT A FANTASTIC BODY IT IS," he laughed. The archbishop didn't seem concerned with Gerulf, yet.
"IT'S BEEN DECA-NO CENTURIES SINCE I HAD A BODY THAT FIT ME SO WELL," 'Subaru jumped up and down. From afar, he seemed like a juvenile teenager.
Gerulf only felt disgusted watching events unfold. He got his answer. It was possession. He guessed Subaru fought off the first assault on his mind, but didn't know what to make of it. Failed the second. Might have been the stress he put on Subaru that tipped the balance. Gerulf vowed to talk with Sword Saint. Even if he leaves the carnage, he didn't expect the Sword Saint to leave him alive. No sane man would.
Gerulf prepared to fight, hoping he could fight the archbishop out of Subaru's body. But he lived long enough to know hope is but a noisy emotion crushed by reality.
"GET OUT OF THAT BODY RIGHT NOW, MADMAN" Gerulf shouted.
"MADMAN?" 'Subaru turned towards Gerulf. "Yes, I am mad with love," 'Subaru raised his hands above the sky, offering a prayer to the heavens, or the witch. "GENEROUS LOVE," Gerulf couldn't react as even his empty surroundings began to become rubble. "RESPECTFUL LOVE," Gerulf slashed the air in front of him, sending a wind blade. "PURE LOVE," His surroundings were all cracked by an unseen impact. "TENDER LOVE," another impact." FAMILIAL LOVE," another blow that could've taken his life. "EROTIC LOVE," another blow. "FRIENDLY LOVE," another impact, closer than the others. "LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE" A barrage of blows landed near Gerulf, yet none hit him.
'Subaru' tilted his head. "Why didn't her love reach him," He grasped his chest. 'His' hands acted as if they fought each other. "THIS BODY IS UNDER MY CONTROL," 'Subaru forced himself to get up to his feet.
Gerulf could see the writing on the wall, yet he refused.
"GET THE HELL OUT OF ME," Subaru shouted.
"I'M PETELGEUSE ROMANEE-CONTI," 'Subaru' shouted.
"SHUT UP," Subaru shouted. "I'M NATSUKI SUBARU AS-" Subaru fell down. He tore his own hair apart.
"I'M…"
Gerulf saw Subaru force himself on his feet.
"GERULF, KILL ME," Subaru's entire body shook to a point even Gerulf could see it. It was clear he was forcing himself to stand up.
Gerulf raised his spear. Took aim. Formed the wind mana around the spear. And threw it with all his might.
The spear impaled Natsuki Subaru Astrea through his chest.
His last thoughts were the people he let down.
There is a place where nothingness resided, yet something existed there.
Its presence incomprehensible
Its existence defies reason.
It housed many paradoxes on its own. It did not exist, but it had its borders. One too many repetitions for an outsider. Not for others. For everyone, it was always the first time. A new day, new dawn, another try at life. It is one of many aspects of the unexplainable nature of Natsuki Subaru or at least the nature that surrounded him.
Again it came to visit that lovely girl. Standing at the edge of the borders of that garden, he remembered nothing.
This world knows the truth about Natsuki Subaru.
He wasn't a human.
A being not complete. Something that can't be a human.
He did not comprehend his Greed. Letting the world what he wanted to have.
He did not comprehend his Pride. Failing to scorn everything that is not her, believing he stood beneath them.
He did not comprehend his Wrath. Not even comprehending the absurdity of it all.
He did not comerhand his Lust. Having been separated, being unable to become one.
He did not comprehend his Gluttony. Pushing his desire to take her all for himself.
Yet there was a change from his previous visits.
Sloth, he still did not know the full truth.
"Being unable…"
Yet failed to understand his own inability.
There remained only envy. The world that surrounded that lovely girl. That's all that remained for him. His envy did grasp him, but he was yet to grasp back.
The world bent to its will, his will.
It brought back lost yesterdays in hopes for new tomorrows.
He did envy the world that surrounded that lovely girl.
He would not let it continue without himself. Only reminiscent of its memories residing inside him. All he would carry for the new tomorrows he should conquer.
He had to conquer.
Because there is a world that surrounds that lovely girl. He wanted it all for himself and for no one else he did not choose.
Subaru opened his eyes.
He saw a tent, bearing the flag of the Dragon Kingdom of Lugnica.
"I understand," Subaru looked inside Gerulf's green eyes. For him, they never broke eye contact. He threw his spear. Subaru died. And now he has gone back.
The camp wasn't set ablaze.
Subaru felt too alive.
"Why are you laughing?"
Gerulf walked towards Subaru.
He wasn't laughing. Was he? Subaru heard laughter but didn't know where it came from.
Who was laughing in such pain?
Purple crystal javelins all came down from the sky, surrounding Gerulf. They vibrated in a manner unexpected from them. An expert could tell they were seconds ready from shredding their surroundings.
"-Subaru, who did this?-"
Subaru didn't care; he now understood the definition of his own insanity.
Alright,
He didn't see the future.
He lived it.
He died at it.
He returned by death.
I also returned from the dead as well.
Welcome and sorry for the delays.
Covid shift in hospital has killed me in more ways than one can imagine.
Firstly, I must thank NotaPenguin, Dr. Ren Otonashi, and PoliticanSeal for beta-reading
It seems like my grammar has been evolving.
As for the chapter
It's up there
You can read it for yourself
I'm always open for criticism so please feel free to leave reviews.
I still read all of them.
Sadly, I can't say when the new chapter will be released since my shifts depend on the intensity of the pandemic.
I will try to publish one chapter per two weeks, but I can't give any promises.